General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: WillyT has been banned. [View all]Ken Burch
(50,254 posts)I consider calling out bad actors among his supporters and pushing the campaign to correct mistakes in strategy to be a form of support. The campaign has done some things well and has many good people within it. There have been less effective choices and there have been some people who have, in the name of supporting Bernie, done the campaign real harm.
I take no pleasure in Willy having been banned. It had been my hope that he stop doing the things that got him banned. I liked some of what he posted. But he did us damage. There was no excuse for that one post(I won't name it, you know the one)and for his insistence on doubling down on the sentiment last week.
It was our campaign's fault in many(but not all respects)that we have not done better with African-American voters. It was not the fault of African American voters themselves, and none of them should have been attacked for their decision not to support us. And it's up to us to learn from that and change in response to it.
I am a loyal supporter of Bernie and of what this campaign has stood for. It's my plan to be involved in whatever long-term movement arises from this campaign. But I can't be an uncritical or unquestioning supporter of any cause or any campaign I am involved in. When I see bad choices or offensive rhetoric used in that campaign or that cause, I'll speak out about that, in the name of protecting the campaign or the cause itself.